Vibrating equipment



June 3, 1952 E. SOLDAN VIBRATING EQUIPMENT 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 7, 1948 INVENTOR LEW/5' E SQLMA/ TORNEY L. E. SOLDAN VIBRATING EQUIPMENT June 3, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 7, 1948 W TTOR/VEV INVENTOR 28 LEW/s 5 501.00

June 3, 1952 Filed Jan. 7, 1948 L. E. SOLDAN 2,599,496

VIBRATING EQUIPMENT 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented June 3, 1952 UNITED -S TATES PATENT OF F ICE VIBRATING EQUIPMENT Lewis E. Soldan, San Diego, Calif.

Application-January 7, 1948, Serial No. 961

Claims. 1 This invention relates to improvements in vibrating equipment. More particularly this invention relates to :an improved vibrating device that can be used to impartcontrolled vibrations to bulky objects and materials.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved vibrating device that can be used to impart controlled vibrations to =bulky obj ectsand materials.

In the "construction-and operation :of vibrating devices it is customary to mount rotatable eccentrics in bearings on opposite sides of the deck or supporting surface of the vibrating device, and to pass :a connecting shaft through those eccentrics in such a way that the shaft keeps the eccentrics in registry. This shaft is customarily spaced a short distance abovethe deck or supporting surface of the vibrating device, and in most instances it does not interfere with the "operation and'use "of the vibrating device. -In some instances, however, the object or materials to be placed on the supporting surfa'ceor deck of the vibrating device are "quite large and bulky; and in those instances 'the connecting shaft -may prevent movement of the materials or objects along the supporting surface or deck of the vibrating device, and may even prevent the placing of the materials or objects on :the supporting surface or deck of the vibrating device. This, of course, limits the versatility and capacity of the vibrating device by limiting the size of the objects and material which can be supported and vibrated by the vibrating device. For example, where the vibrating device is to be used to shake out the molding sand or cores from castings, the presence of the "connecting shaft limits the size of the castings which can be accommodated by the vibrating device. For these various reasons the presence of connecting shafts, which extend between and support -the eccentrics of vibrating devices, can be objectionable. The presentinvention obviates these objections by providing crossjack shafts which are radially spaced from the rotatable eccentrics carried by the opposite sides of the vibrating devices and which can be posit-icned below the supporting surfaces or decks of the vibrating devices or can be positioned suffici-entiy far-above the supporting surfaces or'decks of the vibrating devices to permit those supportsurfaces or decks to receive large and bulky cts and materials. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a vibrating device with a cross-jack shaft that is radially spaced from the eccentrics of that device and is spaced from the supporting surface or deck of that device.

Tobe efiicient, vibrating devices must hav the eccentrics thereof maintained in constant synchrony and register with each other; and those devices must also be capable of permitting relative adjustment of those eccentrics to vary the throw of those eccentrics. Where this is done, the vibrating devices can be 's'e't'toiprovidevarious desired throws and can maintain those throws without unbalancing 0f the vibrating devices. The present invention makes this "possible, and still provides the advantages of'unusually large capacity for the vibrating devices by having the cross-jack :shaftsspaced zradialsly from the eccentrics while holding those eccentrics in synchronyand registry. It is therefore an'objfect of the present invention to provide a vibrating device with a cross-jack shaft thatwTill :permit the eccentrics to operate in registry with each other and will still permit relative adjustment of each eccentric.

Where vibrating devices are used to support large and bulky materials or objects, those devices must be made 'quite large, and thus must be made quite heavy. The amount of (power required to vibrate those devices becomes larger as the weight of the vibrating device increases, and it is therefore desirable to reduce the weight of the vibratable portions of the vibrating devices as much as possible. The cross-jack shaft of the present invention makes such a reduction in weight possible by having the cross-jack shaft supported separately from the vibratable Sportions of the vibrating device. In this way, no power is required to carry and vibrate the vveight of the cross-jack shaft. It is therefore an object of the present invention to .provide a vibrating device with a cross-jack shaft which is separately supported from the vibratable portions of the vibrating device.

The construction contemplated by the present invention has rotating parts spaced away from the rotatable eccentrics; and those .rotati'ngparts must be driven by chains and gears. Such chains and gears must be provided with adequate lubrication to prevent excessive wearing thereof, and they also must be covered to protect the operators of the vibration devices from the dangers inherent in exposed gears and chains. The presentinvention provides housings or casings for the gears and chains, and causes those housings to perform the dual function of providing adequate lubrication for the rotative equipment and of providing protection for workers and passersby. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a housing for a vibrating device that encloses the chains and gears of that device and upper and lower screening decks Il These decks extend between and are supported assures protection for workers and passersby and also acts as an oil reservoir.

In some instances the objects or materials to be vibrated are so large they cannot be accommodated on the largest of vibrating devices. In such instances, it is necessary to correlate several vibrating devices together and to position those devices so they can provide support for the objects or materials to be vibrated. In such instances it is desirable that all of the vibrating devices be held in synchronism with each other so controlled vibrations of the desired amplitude can be imparted to the objects or materials which are supported jointly by the several devices. The present invention makes this possible by utilizing a number of cross-jack shafts which are adjacent a number of vibrating devices, and which are so correlated together tion several preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown and described but it is to be understood that the drawing and accompanying description are for the purposes of illustration only and do not limit the invention and that the invention will be defined by the appended claims.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a partially broken-away perspective View of a vibrating device that is made in accordance with the principles and teachings of the present invention, and that device has a crossjack shaft which is positioned beneath the deck of the vibrating device.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross sectional, end view of the eccentrics and driving mechanism of the vibrating device of Fig. 1, and it shows those ecoentrics enclosed within a modified form of a housing,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevational view of the modified housing or casing, shown in Fig. 2, for the eccentrics of the vibrating device of Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of another vibrating device which is provided with a'cross-jack shaft, and that cross-jack shaft is positioned above the deck of that vibrating device,

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a number of vibrating devices which are positioned adjacent to each other and are connected for conjoint actuation,.

Fig. 6 is a cross sectional end view of another form of vibrating device that is made in accordance with the principles and teachings of the present invention, and

Fig. 7 is a cross sectional end view of yet another vibrating device that is made in accordance with the principles and teachings of the present invention.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the numeral I0 generally denotes a body structure for a vibrating device; and that body structure has and I2.

by opposite side walls I3 and I4. A supporting standard I5 is provided adjacent each end of the side walls I3 and I4, and those standards are suitably secured to a suitable base or fioor, not shown. Each of the standards I5 carries on its upper end I6 a block I! of resilient material, such as rubber or the like; and a suitable bearing plate I8 is interposed between the bottom of the block I1 and the top I6 of the standard I5. An eye bolt l9, having its eye portion 2% below the plate I8 and between the legs of the standard I5,'is projected upwardly through a relatively large opening 2| in' plate I8, through a central bore in the resilient block I1, and through a central opening 22 in a bearing plate 23 that is seated on top of the block IT. The bolt I9 is threaded along its upper end for receiving a nut 24, and this nut bears against and engages the bearing plate 23. Rotation of the nut 24 relative to the eyebolt I9 will permit attainment of the desired positioning of the eye portion 29 of bolt I9 relative to the supporting standard 55. Once this positioning has been accomplished, further relative rotation between nut 24 and eye bolt I9 is prevented by the lock nut 25. With this arrangement, the eye bolt I9 will be permitted to reciprocate vertically while being confined against undue lateral tilting; The legs of the standard I5 straddle stub shafts 25 which project outwardly from the side walls I3 and IQ of the body structure It), and those stub shafts are held by supporting cables 21 which pass through the bolt eye 20 and around the stub shafts 26.

Although not fully shown in the drawing, standards I5, resilient .blocks [1, bearing plates I8 and 23, nuts 24 and 25, stub shafts 25, and cables 2I are provided adjacent the ends of side Wall I4 of the vibrating device. The view of those elements is obscured by the body structure It; but those elements cooperate with their visible counterparts to resiliently support the body structure I0 and permit it to vibrate.

A pair of flexible cables 30, only one of which is shown, are secured to the lower portions of the side walls I3 and I4 of the body structure It; one cable 30 being at each end of the body structure I0. Thos cables are secured intermediate their ends to the base or other support on which the standards I 5 rest; and thus the cables 30 hold the body structure I0 against side sway. The flexibility of the cables 30 permits ready gyration and vibration of the body structure Ill upwardly, downwardly, forwardly and backwardly, but the relative inextensibility of the cables 32 prevents side sway of the body structure I 0.

A cross-jack shaft 28 is disposed transversely below the screening body structure It; and that shaft has one of the opposite ends thereof secured to a driving pulley or belt sheave 29. The pulley or sheave 29 can be connected to a driving unit such as an electric motor or the like, not shown, as by belts which extend between and connect the motor and the sheave 29; and this motor can cause rotation of the cross jack shaft 28. Rotation of the jack shaft 28 is converted to gyratory and vibratory motion for the body structure I0 through vibration-imparting mechanisms located in the housings 32 on the side walls I3 and I4 of the body structure It; although only one of the two housings 32 is shown in the drawing. The housing'32 for the side wall I4 is obscured by the body structure II], but it is the same as the housing 32 for the side 'wall l3. The housings 32 are secured directly to the side walls I3 and- I4, and they are spaced radially from the crossjack shaft 28. Housings 33 are provided on each side of the body structure I0, and those housings extend from the ends of cross-jack shaft 28 to the housings 32.

The housings 32 are generally cylindrical in form andthey are provided with circumferentially extending flanges I I0. These flanges, as shown particularly in Fig. 2, are made as separat annuli and are then secured to the cylindrical portions of the housings 32 by a weld. However, Where desired, the housings 32 and flanges I I can be made unitary in form, as bybasting them of light-weight metal. The flange-s I I 0 are provided with a number of circumferentially spaced openings III, and those openings receive bolts H2 which seat in generally circular plates 34 that are secured to side walls I3 and I4 by bolts 36.

The plates 34 support the stub shafts 35, and those shafts support pairs of heavy-duty roller thrust bearings 31. The inner races of the adjacent pairs of bearings 31 are relatively spaced by an intermediate ring 38, and the bearings 31 are held in position on the shafts 35 by shoulders 39 on those shafts and by retaining plates 40 which are remcvably attached to the end faces of the stub shafts 35 by bolts 4 I. J ournaled on the outer races of bearings 31 are the hub sections 42 of discs 43, and those discs have axially projecting hub portions 44 with external surfaces 45 that are eccentric to the axes of the stub shafts 35. Other discs 45 are provided with hub sections 41 that have internal surfaces which receive and telescope over the hubs 44 of the discs 43. The internal surfaces 48 0f hubs 41 and th external surfaces 45 of hub portions 44 are circular, and thus the discs 43 and 46 can be rotated relative to each other; but those surfaces are eccentric to the axes of stub shafts 35 so relative rotation of discs 43 and 46 can vary the combined eccentricity of those discs. To facilitate relative shifting of the discs 43 and 46, the discs 43 may have slots of suitable angular extent that will receive the bolts 49 therethrough; or, as is presently preferred, the discs 43 may be provided with a series of bolt holes 53 that can receive the bolts 49 which are mounted in discs 46.

Frame plates I are provided on opposite sides of the body structure II], and those plates support the cross-jack shaft 28 through anti-friction bearings 52. The lower ends of frame plates 5I are secured by brackets 52a, to the opposite ends of a tubular housing 521) that encloses the shaft 23; and the housing 52b is suitably secured to the base or floor, not shown, on which the vibrating device is mounted. For example, the support for housing 521), of the cross-jack shaft 28, may include arms 520 which are pivotally mounted at their ends 522;, by resilient sleeves 5272., to the portions 52e of the base on which the standards 1 5 rest. Such mounting permits crossjack shaft 28 to move relative to base 52c without any need of a lubricated pivot that would require servicing. The other ends 52f of the arms 52c encircle the housing 52b; but the ends 52 f are spaced from the housing 52?) by bearing rings 52g which are formed of suitable resilient material. The bearing rings 52g, the sleeves 52h, and the arms 520 support the weight of the housing 52!) while permitting a limited amount of movement of the housing 52b when the vibrating device is being started or stopped. While the vibrating device is running, the cross-jack shaft 28 will rotate concentrically without appreciable vibration.

The frame plates 5| extend upwardly to the vicinity of stub shafts 35, and the upper ends 53 of those plates support housings 54 for antifriction bearings.

The gs in housings 54 support shaft elements 55 which have their axes off-set from, or eccentric to, the axes of stub shafts 35. The shaft elements 55 are rotated by the cross-jack shaft 28 through the medium of sprockets 56 which are keyed to shaft 28, sprocket chains 51, and sprockets 58 which are keyed and bolted to the shaft elements 55. The sprockets 56 and 58, and the sprocket chains 51, are enclosed within the casings 33, which casings are removably attached to the frame plates 5I by bolts; and as a result the sprockets 56 and 58 and the sprocket chains 51 cannot injure workers or passersby.

A flange-like extension 66 is formed integrally at the inner end of each of the shaft elements 55, and those extensions are secured at their peripheries to the end faces of the hub sections 41 of discs 46 by stud bolts 6|. In this way, rotation of shaft elements 55 causes rotation of the discs 46 and 43; and since the shaft elements 55 are held in synchronism and registry by the cross-jack shaft 28, the discs 43 and 46 at each side of the body structure Ill will also be held in registry and synchronism.

With this arrangement, the discs 43 and 43 will begin to rotate eccentrically as the jack shaft 28 starts to rotate, thus causing a slight eccentric movement of the housing 52b. This eccentric movement of the housing 521) will cease, as will the eccentric movement of discs 46 and 43, when the vibrating device gets up to speed; and thereafter the jack shaft 28, the shaft elements 55, and discs 46 and 43 will run concentrically while the body structure It moves eccentrically. The amplitude of the eccentric movement of body structure I I! may be varied between its minimum and maximum limits by removing the bolts 49, rotating the discs 43 and 46 relative to each other, and then reinserting the bolts 49 to lock the discs 43 and 46 in their new position. The relative position which discs 43 and 46 occupy in Fig. 2 is the position of maximum eccentricity; and this position provides the greatest amplitude of throw for the body structure l0. Relative rotation of one hundred and eighty degrees between discs 43 and 46, which rotation can be facilitated by extending the bolt slots 01' the bolt holes 50 over an arc of one hundred and eighty (180) degrees, will bring the axes of shaft elements 55 into the axes of the stub shafts 35 for minimum throw. Any desired amplitude of vibration between minimum and maximum settings can be attained by setting each of the discs 43 at the right angular position relative to the discs 46. Suitable markings can be provided on the peripheries of discs 43 and 46 to indicate the amount of eccentricity at any particular setting.

The discs 43 and 46 are provided with eccentric weights 62 and 63, respectively; and those weights assist in dynamically balancing the rotating parts of the vibrating device. The weights 62 and 63 rotate with the discs 43 and 46, and they are movable relative to each other during changes in the relative position of discs 43 and 46. In this: way, the position of the weights is adjustable so the weights can balance the vibrating device at all given eccentricities. The weights 62 and 63 are preferably set relative to discs 43 and 46 so the weights are adjacent each other when the discs are angularly disposed to provide maximum amplitude of vibration. At settings of lesser amplitude of vibration, the weights will be circumferentially spaced apart.

The housings 32 not only serve to protect the passersby and workers from harmful contact with the rotating discs 43 and 46, but they also. assist in the lubrication of the rotating parts. The housings 32, have circular recesses which carry circular gaskets I I4 that are pressed into sealing engagement with the supporting plates 34 and thus the housings 32 can contain and hold oil. Oil can be introduced into the housings 32 through the covers 3| or filling holes 85, shown particularly in Fig. 2; the holes 65 being normally closed by threaded plugs. The oil can be drained from housings 32 through threaded openings that are normally closed by plugs 64. The circular faces of the housings 32 have circular openings 66 therein that receive shaft elements 55, and those openings are slightly larger than the compensating rings 69 on shaft elements 55 while being considerably smaller than the oil slingers 1| on those shaft elements. The compensating rings 69 have circular outer peripheries and circular inner peripheries; but the peripheries and eccentric to each other. As a result when the inner peripheries -68 of the compensating rings 69 are concentric with the axes of shaft elements 55, the outer peripheries of those rings are eccentric relative to those shaft elements. Consequently, whenever the discs 43 and 46 are shifted relative to each other, the

rings 69 must be shifted to keep the exterior of rings 69 concentric with the openings 68. able markings are provided on the adjacent edges of rings 69 and bearing housings 54 to facilitate an angular shifting of rings 69 which just equals the angular shifting of discs 43 and 46. While the shifting of rings 89 does add one more step to the process of adjusting the eccentricity of the vibrating device, it is of material value because it makes possible considerable reductions in the size of openings 66, thus preventing appreciable oil leakage through those openings. any oil passes through openings 66, that oil will strike oil slingers 1| and be thrown outwardly against the interiors of recessed cover plates 10. Openings I I6 are provided in housings 32 adjacent the bottoms of cover plates 12; and oil lodging in cover plates 10 will run back into housings 32 through the openings H6. The central openings in the cover plates 19 will be concentric with the openings 66 in housings 32,

and those openings can be made as small as possible by reason of the compensating rings 69. If any oil does pass along shaft elements 55 through openings 66, that oil will be thrown outwardly by oil slingers 1| and will not reach the central openings in the cover plates 19.

Proper lubrication of the bearings 31 is assured by providing V-shaped oil troughs or guide channels 12 on the inner surfaces of the casings or housings 32. These troughs 12 will cooperate with the radially-extending T-irons 61 which are secured to the outer faces of the modified housings 32, shown in Figures 2 and 3, to stiffen the housings 32. Such T-irons are not necessary, as indicated by their absence in Fig. 1, but they do strengthen the housings 32. The principal function of troughs 12 is to assist lubrication of the bearings 31, and those troughs do that by catching some of the oil, which is splashed about in housings 32, directing that oil to the vertically extending portions 13 of the troughs, and then discharging the oil adjacent the conical portions of shaft elements 55. The oil, discharged at this point, will cling to the conical portions of shafts 55 and will be moved radially outwardly by centrifugal force until it strikes the frusto-conical Suit- In the event plates 14, carried on the shaft flanges 60; and thereafter the oil will move through transverse passages 15 in flanges 60. The passages 15 will conduct the oil to the races of the roller bearings 31; and the oil that passes through the bearings 31 will drop downwardly between the hubs of discs 43 and the supporting plates 34 to the lower portions or sumps 16 of the casings 32.

The housings 33, like the housings 32, also perform several functions since they protect workers and passersby from contact with the sprockets 56 and 58 and the sprocket chains 51, and since they also facilitate the lubrication of those sprockets and chains. In addition, the housings 33 perform the additional function of tightening the sprocket chains 51. This tightening of the sprocket chains is made possible by making the exterior and interior surfaces of bearing housings 54 eccentric to each other. Where this is done, rotation of the bearing housings 54 relative to the frame plates 5| will move the frame plates 5| upwardly or downwardly relative to the shaft elements 55, thus varying the tension in sprocket chains 51.

The sprocket chains 51 will extend down into the bottom of housings 33 and will pick up the oil which gravitates to those bottoms. .iThat oil will then be carried upwardly by the chains 51; some of it being transferred directly to sprockets 58, and some of it dripping off of the chains 51 as those chains move through the casings 33. Much of the oil that drops off of the sprockets 58 and the chains 51 will be caught by the generally V-shaped gutters 8 which are secured to the plates 5| and extend down toward the cross- J'ack shaft 28. As the oil reaches the bottoms of the gutters 8 it will drip onto the deflecting plates ||9 which are secured to the housings 33; and those deflecting plates will direct the oil onto conical sections of sprockets 56. Thereafter, centrifugal force will move the oil radially out- Wardly along those conical sections until it reaches the frusto-conical plates I20 carried by sprockets 58. These plates will direct the oil into the passages |2| that are formed in sprockets 56; and the oil will flow through those passages and onto the races of bearings 52.

The housings 32 and 33 perform still another function; and that is to resist torsional forces which may be created during starting, stopping or running of the vibrating device. In the absence of sizable resistance to such forces, the cross-jack shaft 28 and its housing 52b would tend to move relative to the body structure I8 during acceleration or deceleration of the vibration-imparting mechanism. This movement is largely avoided by use of the'torsion-resisting housings 32 and 33. I

Fig. 4 illustrates a vibrating device wherein the cross-jack shaft is spaced above rather than below the body structure. That body structure is generally denoted by the numeral 89, and it has a screening surface 8| and side walls 84 and 94. The side walls 84 and 94 carry housings 93 that enclose the vibration-imparting mechanism; and the side walls also carry attaching brackets 85. The brackets 85 have openings therein that receive rods 83, and those rods extend upwardly to an overhead supporting structure 82. To avoid confusion in the drawing, only a small part of the structure 82 was shown; but that structure extends over the four corners of the body structure 89 and supports each of the rods 83. The rods 83 pass through spaced openings in the structure 82, pass through openings in 9" washers 93 that have sp ericalsurfaces on the under sides thereof,,thrughresilient blocks'86 of rubber or the like, and through washers 83. The upper ends of the rods 83 are provided with threads 81, and those threads receive and hold the nuts 88. The spherical surfacesof the washers 90 seat in brackets 92 which have spherical seating surfaces. With this arrangement, the rods 83 can slide smoothly relative to the structure 82 while resiliently supporting the body structure 83. This permits undampened vibration of the body structure 80 and the materials or objects supported thereon.

The housings 9-3are largely similar to the housings 32 of the vibrating device of Fig. 1; and the housings I22 are similar to the housings 33. A jack shaft assembly, generally denoted by the numeral 95, extends between the housings I22; and that assembly includes the cross-jack shaft 96 and the tubular shaft housing. 91-. Thehousing 91 is provided with brackets that receive the lower ends of helical springs 98; and the upper ends of those springs are secured to the supporting structure 82. These springs carry most of the weight of the jack shaft assembly 95, thus freeing the body structure 89" of that- Weight.

Fig. illustrates diagrammatically a plurality of vibrating devices I90, each of which may be of the general form and character shown in Fig. 1. These vibrating devices are positioned adjacent each other and they can receive and impart vibrations to larg objects or' materials. Each of the vibrating devices. I00 has two housings I02 on the opposite sides thereof to enclose the vibration-imparting mechanisms, and a housing 584 extends downwardly from each of those housings. The housings I021 are similar to the housings 32, and the housings: I94: are'similar to the housings 33. Gross-jack shaft assemblies I63 extend between the lower' ends of the hous-- ings I04, and. those assemblies maintain the vibration-imparting mechanisms of. each vibrating device I03 in registry and. synchronism. Housings I05 extend between one end of each jack shaft assembly shaft assembly I LlI- The: jackshaft assemblies IE3 keep the vibrationeimparting mechanisms of each vibrating device I00 in registry, and the coordinating jack shaft assembly IIiI keeps all of the jack shaft assemblies I03 in registry. In this way, all of the vibrating devices I90 can e made to vibrate as a single unit, or any two or more them can be made to vibrate as a unit.

It is important to note that in each of the several arrangements of apparatus shown, no part of the gyratory mechanism and its. drive extends within or through the material-receiving space of the body structureythus the present invention avoids any interference between the vibration-imparting mechanism and the materials or objects placed in the body structures. Moreover, the jack shafts and the drive conneetions to the gyratory mechanism are supported independently of the body structure; thus the weight of the drive is not aded to the gyratory mechanism itself. Consequently, the function of the gyratory mechanism is thereby improved since it may be more closely controlled than has heretofore been possible and it can be operated with less power.

In Fig. 6 a modified form of vibrating device is shown; and that vibrating device is somewhat simpler than the device shown in Fig. 2. That device has circular plates I34 which bear against I03. and a coordinating jackandare secured: to theside walls I I3, of the body structure. The. circular plates I34 are secured to. the side walls I;I'3 by. bolts I05 that extend through openings, in the side walls H3 and seat in threaded openings in the plates I34. The circular plates I34 carry and support stub shafts I35; and those shafts are. provided with reinforcing. webs I36. Anti-frijction bearings I31 have their. inner races, supported on the stub shafts. I35; and spacing rings I38 are plqzed between the inner races of adjacent bearings I31. The bearings I31 are held in engagement with stubshafts I35 by end plates I40; and the end plates. I401 are: secured to the stub shafts by suitable. bolts. The outer races of the bearings I31 fit within. the. hubs I42 of discs I44, which hubs and discs are welded or otherwise secured together. End rings. I46 are carried, by the hubs I42, and those-end rings keepvthe'bearings I31 and discs; I 33 in assembled; relation. Discs I48 are releasably securedto the first discs I44 by bolts I49 and. nuts I50; and those bolts passthrough slotsyor openings in discs I44. The discs I418 have hubs. I5I, and those hubs. telescope oven and receive: the hubs I42; the outer and inner surfaces. of the hubs I42 being circular but being eccentric toeach other, and the outer and. inner surfaces of the hubs I5-I being circular; but being eccentric to each other. With this arrangement, adjustment of the discs I44 relative to the discs M's-can vary the amount of eccentricity of. discs I46; relative to the stub shafts I35.

Shaft elements I 53 are:secured to the hubs I5'l by bolts I54, and those elements project outwardly through openings I56 in the. housing I58. This housing is secured. to the circular flange of webs I35 by bolts I60, and is thus secured to the circular plates; I34. Weights 62 and. 63 are secured to thediscs I44 and I46 respectively, and thosev weights maintain the dynamic balance of the rotating. parts of the vibrating. device. The weights 62. and. 63 perform the same function and purpose as the weights 62 and. 6.3. of'Fig. 2. Compensating rings 69 are provided on the stub shafts I35, and those rings rotate within the openings I56 of. housing I58- and the central. openings: of cover. plates 10'. Oil slingers 1| are secured: to. the shaft elements I53 to force. oilx outwardly from those. elements into the recessed: cover plates 10'. Openings IIB are provided adjacent the bottoms of recessed cover plates 10' to permit the flow of. oil'j from those cover plates to the housings I58.

The shaft element's I 53 also carry bearing housings 54 which have interiors and exteriors that are eccentric to -each other. These bearing housings support housings 33, which housings extend downwardly to the cross-jack shaft assembly within housing 521). That assembly-includes'the shaft 28; the bracket 52a, the bearing 52, the end 52) of the arm 52c, and the resilient bearing ring 52g. The cross-jack shaft 28 carries a sheave 29, and that sheave drives the sprocket gears I51 on the opposite ends of shaft 28. The gears I51 are connected by sprocket chains I59 to the sprocket gears I6I mounted on shaft elements I53; and thus power is applied to the discs I44 and I46. When this arrangement, the decks or supporting surfaces of the vibrating device are free from obstruction or interference. The vibrating device shown in Fig. 6 is a less expensive type of vibrating device than that shown in Fig. 2. However, that vibrating device is fully operative, and it will be 11 adequately lubricated because the sprocket gears and the discs will be capable of picking up oil in the bottoms of the several housings and splashing it about to effect complete lubrication of the device.

Fig. '7 shows a vibrating device which is similar to the construction shown in Fig. 6; the principal differences between the two constructions being that the cross jack shaft assembly extends between and is supported by the side walls H3 of the vibrating device. The hubs 142 of discs I44 carry the sprocket gears I51, the shaft 28 carries the sprocket gears I61, the left hand shaft element I53 carries the sheave 29, the cross-jack shaft 28 vibrates with the decks or supporting surfaces of the vibrating device, and a. single housing I65 replaces the two housings 33 and I58 of Fig. 6.

In each of the various vibrating devices disclosed herein, the cross-jack shafts are radially spaced from, rather than positioned between, the eccentric discs located at the sides of the body structures of the vibrating devices. As a result, an unusually large volume and area is provided on the supporting surfaces or decks of the vibrating devices to receive large and bulky objects and materials. Even in Fig. 7, where the cross-jack shaft assembly is supported by the side walls of the body structure, unusually large objects can be accommodated. By following the principles and teachings of the present invention, considerably increased capacity is made available. Moreover, in those instances where the crossjaok' shaft assemblies are supported independently of the body structures, the body structures can be vibrated more freely and with less consumption of power.

Whereas several embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described in the drawing and accompanying description it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes can be made in the form of the invention without affecting the scope thereof.

What I claim is:

1. In a vibrating device, a resiliently supported vibratable body, a vibration-imparting.mechanism operatively connected to said body to produce gyratory displacement of said body, a casing supported on said body and enclosing said mechanism, said casing having an opening therethrough, a driving connection for said mechanism including a shaft element extending through said casingopening, an oil seal adjacent the said opening in said casing that permits displacement of the casing relative to said shaft element while preventing loss of oil, and a cross shaft driven by said driving connection, said cross shaft being radially spaced from said vibration-imparting mechanism.

2. In a vibrating device, a resiliently supported vibratable body, rotary mechanism connected to said body and adapted, when rotated, to produce gyratory displacement of the body, a casing that encloses said rotary mechanism to permit splash lubrication of the latter and is supported on said body to follow the gyratory movements of said body, said casing having an opening therethrough, a shaft element projecting through said casing opening for operative connection to said rotary mechanism, said rotary mechanism being adjustable to change the amplitude of vibration of said body and simultaneously change the position of the axis of said shaft element relative to said opening in said casing, and a compensating ring that encircles said shaft element and fits within said opening in said casing, said compensating ring having a circular inner periphery and a circular outer periphery that are eccentric to each other.

3. In a vibrating device, a movable body, a resilient mounting for said body, rotatable eccentrics that are connected to the sides of said body and are effective for producing vibratory gyration of said body, and a connecting shaft for said eccentrics that is supported independently of the body and wholly externally thereof, said connecting shaft being spaced radially from said rotatable eccentrics. 1

4. In a vibrating device, a movable body, a support for said body, a plurality of shaft elements fixedly secured to said body, a second set of shaft elements that are supported for rotation relative to said body and have their axes of rotation off-set from the axes of rotation of said first shaft elements, eccentrically weighted discs that are rotatably journalled on the first shaft elements and are driven by said second shaft elements, and a driving connection that is external of said body and maintains said second shaft elements in register.

5. In a vibrating device, a resiliently supported body, a drive shaft located externally of said body, rotary members connected to said body and driven from said drive shaft for effecting gyratory displacement of the body, and a shaft supporting arm pivotally mounted independently of said body and extending substantially normally to the axis of said drive shaft to provide floating support for said drive shaft.

LEWIS E. SOLDAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,402,340 Parmenter June 18, 1946 

